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Tahoe area camper

Hello all. I've been lurking these forums for a few months now. I camped a lot as a kid, but only in campgrounds. I joined the Army right out of high school and learned to love "the wild". Now I (usually) do two week-long camping trips in the summer and as many 1-2 nighters as I can fit in. (I'm a single father of two kids - 5 and 2 - and finding time to get away can sometimes be hard.)

I'm going to try hammock camping for a couple reasons. First, I need to replace my tent so the timing is perfect. Second, it seems I can make one fairly easily - and I LOVE DIY projects. Third, I'm starting to get older and I am just not that comfortable on the ground anymore.

I hike/camp almost exclusively in the Sierras surrounding Tahoe with my trusty trail dog, Arrow. He normally sleeps in my tent with me, so I have some slight reservations about how he'll cope with the change. I know he'll be fine - and I plan on making a large tarp so he gets some cover, too.

I'm getting closer to having enough courage to begin making my hammock. Since I mostly camp in the summer I think I should be able to get away with a fairly basic setup - hopefully just a hammock and tarp and the necessary accoutrements. I have a fairly nice sleeping bag that should last me my first season, I hope. I know top and underquilts are the preferred method - but my money tree is not blooming so well.

I already want to thank everyone here for having such a great community and for offering so much advice. I hope I can return the favor.

I hike/camp almost exclusively in the Sierras surrounding Tahoe with my trusty trail dog, Arrow. He normally sleeps in my tent with me, so I have some slight reservations about how he'll cope with the change. I know he'll be fine - and I plan on making a large tarp so he gets some cover, too.

Welcome Harry and Arrow...
Me and my arrow
Straighter than narrow
Wherever we go, every one knows
It's me and my arrow

We have a Jack Russell and Cairn terrier. Don't know how big Arrow is but both our terriers work in a hammock (one at a time). Once we hit outside they will need to be enclosed at night...they both think they are 200# Pit Bulls.

Mark is the name and If there is more than one way to understand what I just said....I meant the good one.

Welcome to the forum! Nice to see the CA/ NV area growing. My family and I will be in your area sometime this summer--it's all the kids have been talking about for the last month (they LOVE the lake). We're a large crew, so if you see mass deforestation and people fleeing in terror, then you'll know all the little baluka's are in town .

Don't let the budget deter you. There are plenty of people hanging quite happily on a minimalist system (myself included). In time, the system will grow (or at least that's what I keep telling myself--we'll see).

I have a place up on Donner Pass. Some of my favorite places to camp are up in the Tahoe region.

I'd love it if I bumped into another hammocker up there... always feels like I'm the lone hanger in those parts (I know, there are others, but our numbers are so few lol).

Welcome to the forums!

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau